In 1902, the ‘Plato Clock’ was patented, which used two sets of plates that would rotate to display the time by changing the numbers displayed on the plates. Commonly today this is called a ‘flip clock.’ Later, in the 1940s and 1950s, split-flap displays, also called ‘flap displays’ were introduced as an electromechanical display device that presents changeable alphanumeric text, and occasionally fixed graphics.
These ‘flap displays’ were often used as public transport timetables in airports or railway stations, as such they are often called Solari boards after display manufacturer Solari di Udine from Udine, Italy, or, in Central European countries, Pragotron after the Czech manufacturer. Recently, companies have introduced similar devices to social media platforms such as Flapit.
Existing displays are limited by the type of and nature of content that can be displayed on the units because they are either designed to work as an entire static unit, or they have been limited by their capacity to transfer power and information, and particularly over distances.